newbie food /limping

[wozrob11]

hi everyone im new to this site let me fill you in on my little buddy brutus.he will be 10 months old jan 11 and i recently switched his food from purina pro plan natural lamb and rice puppy formula to TOTW pacific stream he had bad red tear stains and i got advice from most bulldog owners from another forum that TOTW pacific stream was the way to go. well i slowly switched him over to the new food with no problems. he has been on the TOTW for about 2 weeks now. well all of a sudden he started to get a small limp in one of his rear legs its been a couple of days and he is getting worse now he dosent want to go down stairs and its now really noticeable and its in both rear legs and now he just sits all the time . he dosent drag his hide quarters at all though . im going to make a vet apt. but i was just wondering if anyone ever heard of a food change doing that to a bully. he was fine before the switch and i am ready to switch him back to the purina . also it was his first food that was not a puppy food . i hate seeing him like this. is it a coinsidence that he started with hip problems the same time i switched his food or is it the food or something else ? i also read that i should get him on some glucosmine/condrotin for his joints anyway and also read a bunch on "growing pains" but every day it looks worse and im really starting to worry.any info would help out alot thank you

[Gertie's Mom]

First of all, welcome to the site. I'm no expert, but there are LOTS of members who are. I have 2 girls, 7 1/2 mos. old, so I'm rather new to this breed. But I think you're doing the right thing, changing him off Purina and to a good quality food. I also think you should absolutely get him into the vet. I would be surprised if it's his food change, but then I've seen food allergies do some crazy things (not me personally, but with other members). Do you use vitamins at all? NuVet Plus is an excellent multi vitamin, I use it every day with Gertie and Ida. They also have a supplement for hips. Their website is nuvet.com Hope you get good news at the vet.

[bfletch13]

I'm new to Bullies but not new to dogs. I wouldn't
think that food would effect that. Unless there is some
food allergy he has. I would get him into the vet ASAP
and see what is going on.

Please let us know what you find out. And we will keep
him in our thoughts. Hope everything turns out for
the best. Oh and we want to see some pics of the
lil guy.

[bullmama]

It is unlikely that it is a food change that did this. I would be VERY surprised-- but don't count it out- you never know. I would get your baby brutus to the vet asap because it sounds like something pretty serious. Please let us know what happens and keep us posted if you can. We have bully owners here with experience in just about everything, and we will be here for support if you need us.

[sheila]

is there a possibility that he is getting into macadamia nuts? macadamia nuts cause temporary paralysis in dogs, specifically their hind legs. if he's only getting a little bit it could be effecting him. idk. wild guess. also can you identify the part of his leg that is hurting him? does he have splinters in his paw pads? Butler started limping last year and it turned out to be valley fever. Just see your vet ASAP and keep us posted! good luck!

[sheshistory]

I agree with the other posts - I don't think it's the food. You need to take your little fellow to the vet for evaluation. If it is a hip problem, the sooner you identify and treat it, the better. If you have any questions on bulldogs and hip problems, please let me know - I had a 10 week old with severe hip dysplasia who just turned 8 months and is doing good now. Good luck, please keep us posted.

[wozrob11]

well its official my little guy has hip dysplasia in both rear legs so i just started him on 1000 mg a day of the nutri vet glucosmine #1 early care and it has 200 mg vitamin c i also started giving him a tablespoon of plain fat free yogurt for vitamin d if anyone can let me know of anything else i can do it would be well appreciated . he is only 10 months so ill try the basic stuff first

[sheshistory]

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear about your little guy. I have been in your shoes with my puppy Truman. He is only 9 months old now but his hip popped out of socket when he was 9 weeks and was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia at 10 weeks. More than one vet recommended I put him down.

I assume you've gotten x rays on his hips and the vet has recommended a treatment plan but if not, I would strong suggest taking your bully to an orthopedic specialist. The good news is, the earlier you identify a hip issue, the better the chances it can be corrected.

I am pasting a response I wrote for another member that was in a similar situation. It contains links to other threads that I wrote about my experiences with hip dysplasia, Truman's x rays, photos, etc. Check it out and please let me know if you have ANY questions! You are not alone!

Excerpt and link from my other post:

Hi @Dad to louie - I am sorry to hear about your Louie's hip issues. I have experienced similar hip issues in my bulldog puppy. He had very loose hips as a baby but I didn't recognize the signs. He didn't like standing a lot. He'd sit when possible. He didn't drag his legs but he wasn't comfortable then he slipped on the floor at 10 weeks old and we found out his hip had popped out of socket. X rays revealed almost non-existent hip sockets but, because of his age, they could not give us a definitive diagnosis of hip dysplasia until 1 month later when we had a follow up x ray and the diagnosis was confirmed. You can read all about my experience here, here, and here.

In some ways, I was "lucky" because we caught it early. Although Truman was in a lot of pain, discovering his hips were bad early gave us options because he was young and arthritis had not yet set in. Since it sounds like Louie is a bit older and his condition might be more advanced, you will likely have less options but there are treatments for hip dysplasia but, of course, no guarantees. It's a difficult problem but bulldogs benefit from being front heavy so their back legs don't do much of the heavy lifting, which means they are good candidates for surgeries to correct hip issues typically recommended for smaller dogs.

So, of course you need to take him to the vet and you need to ask your vet to recommend an orthopedic specialist to you. These professionals go to school an additional 4 to 6 years and are the best equipped to give you a definitive diagnosis and prognosis. I would save your money and call for a referral and get the x rays and appointment at the orthopedic specialist without seeing a regular vet first, particularly if you are seeing one you really love.

There are many treatments for hip dysplasia depending on the severity of the condition - some forms are controlled by diet and medication, others by injection, and some by surgery. Some dogs do well losing a few pounds, putting on some muscle, and taking a medication like Rimadyl or injecting Adequan. Those are the lucky ones. Interestingly, I learned bulldogs are NOT candidates for total hip replacements because they do not make prosthetic for the unique bulldog leg because it's near impossible to duplicate so you'd likely be looking at an FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) or a TPO (Triple Pelvic Osteotomy), if surgery is indicated. You can learn a lot about these by googling and by reading the other threads I linked to above.

Truman ended up having one partially dislocated hip and diagnosed severe hip dysplasia - the worst case scenario. Originally I elected to give him a FHO on his hip out of socket (remove the femoral head and create a false joint - basically a salvage project) and do a JPS (Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis) which is a preventative surgery and helps 90%+ of cases if performed under 16 weeks old - so this will not be an option for you. The good news is that Truman is doing good. He is 2.5 months out of surgery and runs and jumps and has put a lot of muscle on his bad hip. He goes for his follow up JPS surgery to see how his hips have grown in about a month from now when he's 7 months and we're hopeful that he will be able to live a long and healthy life and be able to manage any hip issues with medication but he's currently not on a thing for it.

So there are many variables but it is something you should really get taken care of sooner rather than later because it can cause other orthopedic problems if left untreated - such as torn ligaments in the knee, which I've dealt with in my other bulldog.

As for the insurance, from what I understand, you pay a great premium for hip dysplasia coverage because it is SO common. I would encourage you to make sure this makes sense for you. I did some shopping around and calculated that with the premiums they charge for pet coverage on bulldogs with hip dysplasia coverage, over a lifetime - assuming the dog lives 9 years - would cost many times over what we paid in total for the three surgeries Truman has gone through. Then again, it does make the bill come in more manageable chunks but insurance companies exist because most people pay much more than they claim so be sure it's right for you before signing up!

I hope this is helpful and you are able to read the links about Truman's story and his hips. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions!

[Gertie's Mom]

I am so sorry to hear you got a bad diagnosis. Please keep us updated on Brutus. Did you get a health gaurantee from your breeder? Just curious?

[sheshistory]

Just realized the links within that post are dead so please reference this thread, this thread, and this thread.